Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,99

the velvety blackness of the sky, the angry cries of one, then two, and a final third arrived on the crest of a shower of shooting stars.

Two boys and a girl, their heads covered in cottony tufts of inky strands, each possessed the pale blue eyes of infancy transformed by the sparkle of stars in their endless depths. Demanding from the first, they would not be quieted unless their parents held them close, their father’s purr lulling them into a sound slumber as dawn peeked over the horizon.

“Never again,” Aida mumbled against Er’it’s neck, her arms heavy with the wee beasty suckling yet another hearty meal.

Er’it hummed a noncommittal response, topaz eyes shining as he stroked the cheek of his daughter. His smile was something so tender it made Aida’s eyes sting.

Her family. Safe and warm in her nest. Happy. The demons and ghosts of Er’it’s past, the horrors of hers, were as far away as the stars themselves. This was what they both needed and craved, yet neither had been aware of just how much. Their children would never be locked away or ruled by fear. They would know the sun on their faces and wind in their hair. They would never know the painful loss of everything they held dear.

“Maybe one more,” she murmured, her eyes drifting shut.

Somewhere in the North…

A hooded figure ducked into the musty tavern. Heavy layers of rough hide dripped rainwater on the stained planks as he moved through the reveling crowd toward another robed figure tucked into a dark corner. A pitcher of foul ale and two dingy tankards already sat waiting, moisture beading upon the rotting wood.

The leather-clad figure sat, the bench groaning under his weight as he set trunk-like arms upon the worn table with a grunt.

“You are the one?” the robed one asked, voice pitched low yet able to be heard with crystal clarity over the din.

“I am,” came the gruff response.

“You recently met one of the ones I wish. A woman with stars in her eyes. Do you recall her?”

“I do.”

“Then you know what it is I seek, and that I will know if you attempt to fool me.” Lush red lips spread wide, the glint of deep umber eyes shining in the depths of the hood as the robed figure looked the other over. “They are to be delivered whole and untouched. I believe you can accomplish this.”

“Fine, fine.” A work-roughened hand scrubbed at the prickly red of a beard. “How much and where?”

“I need something else before I can divine the first. Someone who can help me… see…” Shoulder rolling in a shrug, a fine hand of rich ochre waved away the question lingering in darkened blue eyes. “You are not needed for that part. I will pay a hundred gold coins for the other, provided they arrive on my terms.”

The male grunted, shoving up from the bench to tower over the robed figure.

“I will meet you here after the full moon with a location. You will only have to go and collect it. An easy mission for you, I’m sure.”

Stalking from the tavern, the leather-clad figure didn’t look back. The foulness of this transaction burned the back of his throat, stinging his nose until he could gulp in the clean, frigid air of the stormy outdoors. Too long in the forest, slipping about unseen, had found them on the wrong side of things when that damned imp set everything to rights. Oscara was once more, and they were all of them out of a job and doomed to starve if he didn’t do this.

“Is it a deal then, Rhyn?”

“It is.”

The End

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Desperate - The Cost of Desperation

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Devin Haynes has worked hard her entire life to remain independent. Refusing to ask for help, even when she needs it most.

When things go from bad to worse, she’s willing to do just about anything.

Let go from a string of positions, everything hangs in the balance on one newspaper clipping. Wicked, the city’s premiere nightclub, caters to an illusion she doesn't think she can sell, but she's desperate. Jumping at the chance, she's intent on making an impression the night before the interview.

Now she's caught up in an Alpha's game, playing into his every move. He's demanding more than she's ever given and leaving her no choice. Everything is on the line, including her.

How far is she willing to let her desperation take her?

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